'Resilient' Browns return to work

Paul Kruger and Davone Bess said they believe in the resiliency of the Cleveland Browns as they look to bounce back from Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Disappointing” and “frustrating” were the words Cleveland Browns outside linebacker Paul Kruger used to describe Sunday’s 41-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.

And yet, despite the loss, the first-year Brown said the team will be ready to bounce back from the defeat and ready themselves for the final six games of the regular season.

“It’s a competitive group, and we have an extremely large amount of potential,” Kruger said. “It’s just putting it together, being disciplined. Those are really the teams that play well and play consistently well in this league, teams that can minimize the mistakes, keep momentum in their court. I think we’re doing a good job.

“We’ve just got to do it more often, more consistently. This is going to be a really good team. We have an extreme amount of potential. It’s just putting it together, being consistent. We’ve been in every game we’ve played in, so to give ourselves opportunities to win, me personally, it’s going to be doing more, working harder out here, finding ways to create turnovers, give our offense more opportunities. If we put it together the way we can, I know we’ll be in good shape.”

Kruger said he believes in his teammates because the Browns show the comeback ability “every week,” regardless of the outcome of the previous game.

“Whether you win or lose, you’ve got to stay even keel and come to work,” Kruger said. “We still have some things that we’re playing for ahead of us. For us, it’s just going to be about preparing and doing what we need to do to beat Pittsburgh. I think the coaches do a great job of keeping us focused on what we’re doing.”

Much like Kruger, first-year Browns wide receiver Davone Bess said he believes in the comeback ability of the players within the locker room.

“Guys have the resiliency to bounce back and guys come to work,” Bess said. “We’ll come to work Wednesday ready to go for the Steelers. We took steps backwards, but for us, we got better watching the tape. Now, it’s going to take us to another level. That’s our mindset. It’s behind us. We’ve just got to move forward and stay positive.

“That’s the hardest thing to get over, knowing that you had an opportunity, especially being able to play for something this late in the year. It’s everything. We’ve got to be able to capitalize, finish, got to be able to score in the red zone when you get down there. You’ve got to score touchdowns, turn field goals into touchdowns.”